beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We had a bit of snow the first weekend of December, just enough to get us in the mood to set up a few decorations in our missionary apartment.

(Can you spot our Texas car shivering in the cold?)

We took a break, on Dec. 5, from our busy schedule to celebrate my 65th birthday (officially an "old lady" now).  Got my Medicare card. Now just need to get a cane and I'm ready for anything life throws at me.

We celebrated at The Village Inn, which was a resting place for weary travelers and was built in 1824, in the town of Albion, on Ridge Road, formerly an Indian trail. The main dining room where we sat, once served as a carriage shed with a dance floor above.

If that wasn't enough excitement, the following weekend, the Jensens (another couple on the mission office staff) invited us to accompany them to Kirtland, Ohio, where we drove a  mission van and  traded it out for a brand new one (the new car smell was intoxicating).
Were we in for a treat!  Historic Kirtland was alive with the Christmas spirit! The church's Historic Kirtland Visitors Center took our breath away with the most magnificent display of 700 nativities from all over the world.

huge olive tree wood nativity made in Israel

Another weekend, we were treated to a most glorious performance of Handel's Messiah, performed by the Rochester Chamber Orchestra and featuring world renowned opera singers.

Hochstein Performance Hall, Rochester, N. Y., an award winning concert hall, built in 1890 as a Presbyterian Church sanctuary

There's nothing like music to bring in the Christmas spirit. Don't forget to get your free download of the best ever Christmas music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It is sooo beautiful, it sends your spirit soaring. Click HERE.

 

thankful!

There is much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Just a year ago, our precious little one was on the heart transplant list at Texas Children's Hospital. She was being kept alive by the  Berlin Heart pumping device.  Her future was uncertain. Many prayers were said. Many tears were shed.  We were on a huge emotional roller coaster. Our faith in God sustained us through the darkest days.

 

Now, we give thanks to the Lord that he has chosen to prolong Dahlia's  life here on earth, and to the generosity of a donor family who looked beyond their grief to give the gift of life.

Dahlia , 1 year old

spooks, storms, and spiders

Pumpkin carving with our missionaries.

                                Sister Torres, Elder Jones, Elder Ellis, Elder Perkins

Sister Wall, who was feeling under the weather, cuddled up in her blanket while  we were carving our pumpkins.

Shortly after setting our pumpkins out on the front porch, we hunkered down and waited for  hurricane Sandy to head our way.  Schools were closed and the missionaries were told to stay in. That night, the winds were howling, but we never did lose electricity, and we were spared the devastation that hit New York City and other coastal areas. 

On Halloween, our district meeting was held in the morning at our apartment. The Elders were very sneaky and played a Halloween prank on us after we left to run a mission errand. When we got home, both Carl and I were in our laundry room putting  some clothes in the washing machine. As soon as we lifted up the lid, we let out blood curdling screams, and jumped a mile. I thought a monster spider was living in our washing machine.

Now we've got to think of a way to get even with Elder Ivie and Worsham.  They are the rascals who trick us with their fake chipmunk whenever we do their apartment check. First, it was on the window sill, along with some real chipmunk poop (a little critter had snuck in through a crack). Next month, it was hiding in the vacuum cleaner, in the part Carl opens to change the bag. Last month, the chipmunk flew out of the microwave when we checked it, totally shocking us and  causing quite a funny reaction. They had fastened the chipmunk by a string to the inside of the microwave door. To get even, I left a fake mouse in their bathtub, along with some potatoes chips. They reluctantly admitted that it startled one of them,, who had taken off his glasses to take a shower.  So, as you can see, it is an ongoing battle. ( Never a dull moment in our mission assignment.)

On Halloween night, the missionaries were told to stay indoors, so we had our two sets of missionaries over for a little Halloween supper -- hot dogs,baked beans, carrot salad, yummy New York apple cider and Tim Horton's donuts.  A few cute little trick or treaters came by, and reminded us of our cute little grandkids who were doing the same back home in Texas and in Minnesota.

amazing autumn

Fall colors have peaked in Palmyra, at the Temple (flowers) and at the Joseph Smith farm.

 

So grateful to be serving in this beautiful place.

Here is the amazing view from the Hill Cumorah, where just three months ago, thousands gathered to watch the Pageant.

With no more summer tourists,  we were pretty much by ourselves in the Sacred Grove, where we stopped after a long day of inspecting some of our missionary apartments.

 

 We surprised Bambi as we walked around a corner. He stood still and stared at me until I walked away.

The most amazing of God's creations are the people we have grown to love out here.

Sister Raines, is one of the many missionaries we have gotten to know and love.   She is so talented and sang one of her original songs her last evening with us, before she was transferred.
We love all the missionaries in this mission! They are very special young men and women who have chosen to devote 2 years (1 1/2 for the young women) of their lives to serving the Lord. In a few more months, we'll get many more missionaries due to President Monson's announcement lowering the ages at which they can serve. Things will get especially busy as we scramble to find more apartments and furnish them.

We sure do enjoy being with these young missionaries.
This Saturday, a few of the missionaries in the Rochester Zone participated in a 5 K run benefiting the House of Mercy, a homeless shelter helping more than 4,000 people a month. It was so much fun running with our missionaries through scenic Genessee Valley State Park.

Elder Larsen, Elder Ivie, Elder Perkins, Elder Robertson, me, Elder Ellis, Elder Worsham, Elder Jones, Sister Wall and Sister Raines

Other missionaries from the Rochester zone helped cook the pancake breakfast we enjoyed after the run.  Our church is a major sponsor of this race benefiting the House of Mercy.

some nice breaks

Things have been quite busy in the New York Rochester Mission. 

A busy few moments before the start of our Monday morning staff meeting. (from left to right -- Elder Servoss, who handles all finances, Sister Christianson and President Christianson)

We've been dashing here and there and everywhere, carrying out our assignments. So, we really have been appreciating a few of the breaks we've had. This month, I had a fun break attending the annual Women's Conference broadcast from the Salt Lake City Conference Center. What a great evening it was, enjoying a  pre-conference dinner at the church with the wonderful ladies in our Rochester Stake, followed by uplifting messages from our Relief Society Leaders and President Eyring.

(from left to right: Linda DeGraff--my biking buddy from our Brockport Ward, and my girls--Sister Raines and Sister Wall)

We also had a fun little birthday break with our little missionary "family". (We love our missionaries.)

Before the big chill roars in from Canada this weekend (a predicted low of 37 degrees Sunday morning), we spent an afternoon at Hamlin Beach State Park, just 20 minutes down the road from us, where we enjoyed a perfect autumn day riding our bikes along the shore of Lake Ontario.

The best break will be this weekend, as the inspired words of our prophet, apostles and other leaders are broadcast around the world during the semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You  can watch and listen to it here  or here.


Presidernt Thomas S. Monson

Elder Perkins, who visited our mission recently, will be one of the conference speakers. He gave us some good advice, saying that we can receive answers to questions we have, as we listen to our inspired leaders. The key is for us to think of a few questions that we would like to receive answers for. He promised us that if we prepared this way, that any church  meeting can be a revelatory experience for us, as we are certain to receive answers.

canal days

These past two Saturdays, we enjoyed life on the Erie Canal. The first Saturday, we joined  a few other senior missionary couples for a cruise on the 1800's packet boat replica, called the "Sam Patch".

Packet boats were built long and narrow to accommodate the constricted dimensions of the early canal.  "Sam Patch" is named for the colorful daredevil who jumped Rochester's Genesee Falls in Nov. of 1829.  Although Patch had twice jumped Niagara Falls and survived, he failed to surface after leaping 97 ft. to the base of the Genesee Falls.  His body was recovered at the mouth of the Genesee River the following spring.

At Lock 32, (locks along the canal are necessary to compensate for the change in elevation from sea level at Albany to over 600 ft at Buffalo), we passed through massive 40 ton gates to enter the lock chamber from the low water side.

 Once inside the lock, the lower gates close and the chamber fills with 3 million gallons of water, raising the boat 25 feet. 

 

Then the upper gates open, and we continue the cruise. We turn around and re-enter the lock, ending up at the starting point, Schoen Place, in the historic village of Pittsford, which retains much of its original charm and character.

 

 

The following Saturday found us again on the Erie Canal, joining members of our Brockport ward Church group for the annual 43 mile  Bicycle Trek along the canal path way, which is  protected from any car traffic.

We started off in Spencerport (you can see the canal in this picture) and hoped that the old bikes we found in the garage of the mission home, would make it. We didn't know how we'd make it either -- it was sheer grit and determination and our love for a challenge. You might say we are just a pair of old fools.  

 

We couldn't have made it without the help of our support crew, who met us at designated rest stops, supplying us with snacks, drinks, lunch and a hot dog roast at the finish. They cheered us on as we made it up the last few killer hills leading up to our final destination, the Hill Cumorah, in Palmyra.

Brother Donoghue was one of our happy support crew. (Happy to be in a car)

 

Here we are, at the final rest stop before the hardest part of the trek -- the final very hilly 10 mile stretch to the Hill Cumorah.  We had started out at 8:30 a.m. and it was now  2:00 p.m.  We were all so tired, but somehow got that final burst of adrenalin needed to make it to the end.

 

It was one of the most physically demanding things I'd ever done, but I was determined to ride it the entire way. I had to keep chanting, "I can do hard things", while another part of me said, " You are crazy to be doing this!".

 

Luckily, Carl had traded bikes with me midway through the trek, otherwise I would have never made it. Here he is with my girl's bike, which had clunky gears and a slightly wobbly front tire.  In spite of that handicap, my "iron man" conquered those final hills with amazing speed, coming in first at the Hill Cumorah.

 

 

Here I am, minutes after finishing.  It took two people to help me off the bike.  I was so relieved and shocked to have finished a 43 mile bike ride. (Longest I'd ever been on a bike) The girl with the bandaged arms bit the dust early. Going down a very steep incline along the canal, she took a terrible spill and was lucky to have sustained only some severe road rash.  Other than that, we all made it safely and were amazingly able to walk into church the next morning.

 

So grateful to have spent the last two Saturdays enjoying travels upon and along the Canal!

Since we have been on this mission, we've learned of the important role the Erie Canal has played in the Restoration of the Gospel.  There is no way the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon could have been printed without this great waterway enabling the largest and newest state-of-the-art printing press to be transported from New York City to Palmyra.  The vast amounts of paper needed to print such a large order was also shipped to the printing shop in Palmyra via the canal.  Early church missionaries, such as Parley P. Pratt, and many of the early church members, used the canal as a vital means of transportation.

 

 

renewal

Last week we attended four zone conferences. We love zone conferences since we get to see all our missionaries and get our batteries re-charged by the inspiring words of our mission president, his wife, and others. Each morning, while Elder Ellis (Carl, Grandpa, or Dad) helped check the mission cars, I was setting up my missionary "shop", with all the clothes missionaries going home give to us. I don't know how we packed it all in our car.   The missionaries were excited to select clothes they needed (wish I had taken a photo of that).  We managed to get rid of 2/3 of everything. Most of the  leftovers went to Goodwill today.

And here is part of a  talk by our awesome mission president, Jack Christianson ---

After one zone conference, we stopped off at the Sacred Grove to enjoy the summer beauty.

The beauty continues as we walk out of the grove.

Walking down the path towards the Joseph Smith Log home, we see the beautiful Palmyra Temple.

Summer is is full bloom at the Smith log home.

We finished up the day at the Hill Cumorah, where we hiked through the ancient part of the forest to the 240 year old sugar maple tree (a "witness" tree) that our mission president calls the "Moroni" tree.

We feel so blessed to be serving a mission in such a beautiful place that has such significance in our church's history -- the cradle of the Restoration. There is a very strong spirit in these special places. Our love  for the Savior grows even stronger with each day. This is a wonderful opportunity to be of service to show gratitude in a small way for all He has blessed us with.

Moroni tree and I

(And where else would I want to do a photo shoot with a tree?)